


Snow Forts and the Others

by HockeyShit



Series: Papa Ned [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Ned being a dad, just pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 03:39:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18357851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HockeyShit/pseuds/HockeyShit
Summary: Ned thought he might have made hundreds of snowballs. The snow under his knees had soaked through to his knees and he could feel a chill coming on, but he wanted to stay in this moment forever.





	Snow Forts and the Others

     Sometimes Ned felt like it was clear that he was never supposed to be the Lord of Winterfell. He got tired of listening to people coming to him with their problems. He always did the best he could but sometimes he wished this was not his burden. Today was one of those days. He watched as the farmer walked out of the great hall unhappy. Ned had done his best but he couldn’t make everyone happy.

     Before the doors of the great hall could shut two young boys ran in giggling. They ran up to Ned, all the guards looking to Ned uncertainly while the two three-year-olds barreled up to his seat. Ned stood and scooped them up, the two boys laughing harder and wiggling in Ned’s arms.

     “I think that’s it for today.” Ned walked out of the great hall the laughing boys in his arms.

     “What have you two gotten in to?” the laughing subsided, he saw Jon peak over at Robb. “Where are you two supposed to be?” he gently dug his fingers into the boy’s sides tickling them and causing them to giggle.

     “Mother is with the _baby,_ ” Robb said, Ned didn't remember if he and Brandon were upset with baby Lyanna the way Robb and Jon were about their sister Sansa.

     “I can see that you two got away. You’re not dressed warm enough to be outside.”

     “We want to build a snow fort,” Jon said as Robb nodded along with him.

     “Then let's get you dressed for the snow and we’ll build a snow fort.”

     Ned took his sons to bundle up before they went into the Godswood to build a snow fort. He helped them pile up the snow, and made them a small door so they could go in and out of the fort.  The boys tried to help, patting snow on to the sides of the walls. But once the door was made they were more interested in running in and out of the fort. Once the walls were nearly as tall as the boys he made them battlements on top of the walls, to make it look a bt more like a fort.  

     After the fort was built they set to making snowballs. The boys trying their hardest to make snowballs as fast and as round as he was. Ned thought he might have made hundreds of snowballs. The snow under his knees had soaked through to his knees and he could feel a chill coming on, but he wanted to stay in this moment forever.

     “Who are these snowballs for?” Ned asked as he handed Robb an arm full for him to take into the fort.

     “They aren’t snowballs, they’re fireballs, for the Others. We're the Nights Watch,” Jon explained patting down a misshapen snowball and taking it into the fort.

     “The Others?” Ned had to stand up to find a new patch of snow to make snowballs out of, he wasn’t sure where the boys were putting them, how they had enough room in the fort for so many, likely as not many of them had been squished.

     “Old Nan was telling us about them, Brandon the Builder built the wall to keep them out.” Ned tried not to roll his eyes as Jon told him all he could remember about the story Old Nan had told them.

     Ned’s gloves were soaked through, his fingers were going numb, but the boys seemed like they were still having fun, making snowballs. But soon he realized neither had come out of the fort to collect any snowballs from him, he had a pile growing by his knee. He looked up at the fort and saw a small head of black hair and a small head of red hair ducking behind the battlements, he was glad his sons hadn’t wandered off. It didn’t take him too long to figure out what the boys were doing. Soon they were giggling trying to whisper. Ned smiled to himself and kept making snowballs. He wasn’t sure that the boys could hit him with snowballs from how far back he was but he’d let them try, he would play along.

     Robb threw the first snowball giggling the whole time. It did hit Ned, he looked up, feigning surprise as Jon threw one as well. Jon’s hit as well, Ned scooped up some of his snowballs and raised up on his knees and threw a snowball back at the fort missing low. The boys giggled as they threw more snowballs.

     The snowball fight didn’t last long, the boys ran out of snowballs quickly, then they huddled in their fort still giggling though Ned could tell they were cold as well. For the first time all afternoon they were shivering.

     “Come on boys, I think you’ve protected the realms of men enough for today.” He walked over to their fort looking in from the top. He expected more snow to be thrown at him but it seemed that the boys had tired themselves out. He reached down into the fort and pulled Robb out, then Jon, setting each on their feet outside the walls of the fort.

     “Can we knock it down before we go?” Robb asked, Ned knew he should tell them no, that they needed to go inside and get warm, instead he nodded.

     “Better you knock down your snow fort than someone else.” Jon and Robb’s eyes lit up as they knocked the snow walls over, they were giggling again, though their giggles didn’t last as long this time, soon they were shivering looking up at Ned, the fort now just a pile of snow.

     “And now your watch is ended,” Ned held a hand out for each boy, Cat would scold him he knew, but he didn’t dwell on it, instead he committed the afternoon to memory so he had something to think about the next time he had to listen to a farmer go on about someone stealing his sheep.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know anything about childhood development. The boys are three in the story but I don't know how a three-year-old acts. they might actually be four or five, it's not super important but all the same, I don't know anything about children.  
> Also, in book canon, Ned would have been like 23/24 in this story, crazy huh?


End file.
